ANALYSIS: The 52-20 win over Wales had all the markings of a let down performance by the Wallabies before a remarkable second half showed just how far they’ve come in their best win of 2024.
After the win over England, the Test against Wales turned into what coach Joe Schmidt referred to as a ‘banana skin’ game that had often claimed Wallabies sides akin to a blue shell to keep the Mario Kart references going.
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A struggling Wales side desperate for victory, multiple changes and rising expectations after last week’s England win: this is a scenario Wallabies fans have seen and been burnt by before.
The Aussies have struggled for back-to-back Test wins away from home, last doing so at the 2019 World Cup against Uruguay and Georgia.
When a 19-0 lead disappeared to 19-13 and Samu Kerevi was carded, the fears of a shock defeat to undo all of last week’s good work looked real.
Until they didn’t.
The 20 minutes with the Wallabies down a player is some of the finest you will see from a side in 2024.
It starts with the work at the ruck, with debutant starter Seru Uru’s 42nd-minute turnover a game-turner as Wales rumbled down the field.
Tom Wright gets the plaudits for his hat-trick but his turnover two minutes later was crucial in allowing the visitors to pin the hosts in their half and work time off the clock.
From here, captain Allan Alaalatoa deserves immense praise for the trust shown in his rolling maul, which suddenly emerged as a weapon.
If the Wallabies didn’t convert and Wales went back down the field and scored to take the lead, Alaalatoa gets blasted for his decision-making and not milking the clock. When bravery and total trust like this pays off, it’s important to celebrate it when it works to perfection.
Wales dominated the Aussies in this area in July but the inclusion of Will Skelton is enough to turn any tides in this area.
Two tries in five minutes to Matt Faessler silenced the Principality Stadium crowd even if the upgrading of Kerevi’s card to red gave them enough hope of turning the tide.
However, the Wallabies’ defence was relenting, especially in the way they subsequently shut down Wales' lineout
For the Australians, attack was the best defence as Lukhan Salakaia-Loto’s work to pinch a lineout one-handed on their line was superb, followed by a similar effort a minute later by the lock.
What was once a liability was now a strength, something almost unheard of in the Northern Hemisphere.
What this all did was put Wales under head-splitting pressure as they could sense their opportunity to end their winless drought and avoid unwanted history slipping away.
Earlier in the game, the Wallabies showed their ruthlessness in punishing mistakes when Nick Frost galloped into space after a spilled ball.
As the time with the player advantage ticked into the seconds, the indecision produced another opportunity to strike as fullback Tom Wright read the intercept perfectly to break the Welsh spirit and secure the win.
They’re now a team that can hurt you from all areas and facets of the game and they’re doing the things that make a good side great, such as limiting their penalty count to just eight.
It’s what makes the Wallabies’ win so special, with the team recording 40+ points in back-to-back games for the first time since USA-Russia at the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
On top of this, this is the third game in four where the Wallabies have conceded ten or fewer penalties.
There’s also a sense of full circle for the Wallabies, almost a year on from Wales taking them down 40-6, with a missed conversion late denying them the win of the same margin
Every player in the lead-up to the July series was asked about the loss and the World Cup campaign so a win like this buries the remaining skeletons.
The strong fortnight has silenced any calls from the UK of an ‘easy’ British and Irish Lions tour, the reality is there’s no such thing.
Joe Schmidt’s side will be underdogs and need to go to another level in the next weeks to take down Scotland and Ireland, the two form sides of the Northern Hemisphere that don’t sing ‘Allez les Blues.’
But there’s a real confidence around this Wallabies side that will count for a lot in the next 12 months.
